Portsmouth aunt and niece, 25 and 22, in court charged with Southsea Common attack as victim still 'very ill'

It comes after footage showing 20-year-old Rebecca Paige Grant being assaulted on June 17 at around 8.30pm has been viewed on social media more than a million times.

Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court this afternoon heard she is still ‘very ill’ and is being assessed for a ‘bleed on the brain’.

Police said she had been taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham but had been discharged.

Minnie-Mo Hunt, 25 of High Street, Cosham and her niece Daisy Hunt, 22, of Berkshire Close, Landport, appeared separately in the dock at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court.

They each face a charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm. No pleas were entered.

The younger Hunt, dressed in a grey tracksuit, wept throughout the hearing, as friends in the public gallery told her to ‘be strong’ when she was remanded.

Her aunt, dressed in pink long-sleeved top and ripped jeans, was also remanded in prison. Both will appear at Portsmouth Crown Court on July 27.

Due to social distancing rules the pair appeared separately in the secure dock in courtroom one, which was cleaned between hearings.

Prosecutor Giles Fletcher told the court: ‘There was an assault on a female on Southsea Common recorded on mobile phone footage, where you can clearly see kicking and stamping on the unconscious female.’

Mr Fletcher added: ‘She becomes unconscious. She’s still very ill. There’s a lot more tests to be done to see if there’s a bleed on the brain. There’s more CT scans to be done.’

He added: ‘There’s been a lot of media and social media interest. I think on Facebook the video has been viewed over one million times.’

Howard Barrington-Clark, for both defendants, said the charge was indictable only meaning it could only be dealt with in the crown court.

Remanding the older woman, magistrates’ bench chairman Nicholas Mansfield said: ‘We’re going to remand you in custody to the 27th of July at 10am.’

A Hampshire police spokeswoman previously said: ‘We would like to thank members of the public for their support in this investigation but also ask the public not to speculate about those involved or share footage on social media as this remains a live investigation.

‘Anyone with information is asked to contact police.’

Officers previously appealed for people to help identify three men and released images of the three ‘key witnesses’.

Some people on the common during the incident had not yet been spoken with, the court heard.

Call police on 101 with any information.

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